Road Not Taken
by elie12
Summary: During the summer holidays, Harry tries to get away from a few death eaters, but somehow manages to send himself into another place. Spoilers Ahead


** I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters or her books. **  
  
~Chapter One~  
  
It was a dark and stormy night. The rain was falling down like sheets from the sky, blanketing the town with its wetness. While amongst all of this is a boy, a boy of 16. Lying on his bed looking out the window and seeing the rain splattering up against it. As he looks out he wonders, "Why me?" As this boy, Harry thinks it, his mouth unfortunately wanted to say it. "Aww, crap! Now I'm going to get it." Says Harry with a sign of fear. He jumps out of his bed and quickly cleans and puts away his summer homework. Just as he is pushing the last of it in his trunk, Uncle Vernon slams open the door.  
  
"What do you think you are doing??!!" Vernon yells at the top of his lungs, with no reply from Harry. "I said what are you doing!!" Again, there is no reply from Harry. By this point, Vernon's face looks as if it's about to blow-up like a volcano, "If you don't answer me you are going to get it!!" This time Harry thinks better of it and decides to answer. With a quick breath he says, "I was sitting in my room making no sign or sound and pretending that I don't exist. Just like you told me Uncle Vernon."  
  
"Don't you use that tone with me boy! If it weren't for that idiot at that stupid school of yours we would have put you in the asylum, where you belong. But you ." Just then, he stops in mid-sentence with the sight of an owl. Not just any owl, but a big-eyed snowy owl, named Hedwig, who fly's into the room and lands on Harry's shoulder. Harry greets the bird and takes the letter attached to its leg.  
  
"Now boy, I want to see that letter of yours and this time there will be no arguments! You hear me?!" Harry reluctantly nodded his head and starts to unroll the parchment.  
  
"It's from Ron, my friend from."  
  
"I know who he his, he is also from that freaky school of yours! Keep on reading boy!"  
  
"The letter says.  
  
Hey Harry!  
  
Hope your summer is going well. Mum is wondering if you would like to have some sweets again this year for your birthday. If you say no, Mum will probably make them anyhow. Hermoine said that she might be able to have us over at her house for a change. That would be neat because I have never been over to a muggle's house before. Well except yours, but that isn't yours. Isn't it like your Uncle's or something? O' ya, Hermoine wants to know if you will be able to go over to her house too. She said that if you are going to need a ride or something to give her a call on the fellyfone, whatever that is. Also Fred and George's business is really taking off. I wonder how they even managed to get their starting money? They didn't have any jobs before this either. So, I don't know mate, you didn't have anything to do with this did you? Hey I got to leave it at that now, Mum is calling for me it get down stairs to de-gnome the yard, again. Talk to you soon mate!  
  
Ron  
  
.. And that's all he wrote. Is there anything else that you need me to do, that's at least important? If not, could you leave me alone. I have my own stuff to do." Said Harry with no sign of regret.  
  
"Well, yes there are actually a couple things that need to be done. This first is that we talk about this letter of yours. What did he mean by getting some more of those 'sweets'?" Vernon spat out of his mouth trying to make the word sweets sound as if it was the most atrocious food ever invented.  
  
"Those sweets that you are referring to was when you had your killer whale sized son along with the rest of the family on a, may I quote you, 'rabbit food' diet. So, when I wrote to my friends they sent me some sweets and some other stuff so that I could at least survive the summer until I got away to my safe haven, Hogwarts."  
  
"DON'T YOU SAY THAT NAME IN THIS HOUSE!" Shrieked Uncle Vernon trying to put some of that no good fear into a child he feels needs a good whack every now and again.  
  
"Fine, its not like you can do anything about it though, I mean all you do is starve me for a few days and keep me locked up in my room for a while. What's so big about it? It's not like you didn't do it before." Harry said very coolly, while a flash of lightning lit up the sky for a brief moment followed by an explosion of thunder.  
  
"What are you talking about boy?! Petunia and I, we took the best care we could of you. Almost as good as Dudley! So, don't you be saying anything bad again as long as you are under this house!" He bellowed. *I think that I am going to have to let him have a piece of my mind. Lets see how this will go.*  
  
"So, you think you take such good care of me? Want to explain to me the following things. One, why when I was eleven, did you only take me to the zoo with Dudley and his friend, ONLY when Mrs. Figg next door, couldn't watch me?"  
  
"Well that was because." Vernon tries to say to interrupt Harry, but Harry, almost like a person trying to pee in a small cup with an exceptionally full bladder, just kept on going.  
  
" Or how about the time when I was twelve, when you tried to cage me in my room, by calling the man at the jail to bar my windows so I couldn't go to school? Or even better how about when I was thirteen, when you had you good-for-nothing fat sister come over and she kept constantly making fun of my dead parents. Then when I tried to calm down or not make a scene by leaving, you forced me to stay in the room and listen to all of her ranting and raving. Later, on the last day of Marge's visit, she made me so livid that magic got the better hold of me, which then it caused her to expand and possibly blow up! If you can possibly imagine that happening!" Cried Harry at his uncle. Once he was done with what he had said, Vernon finally figured out a lie to cover-up his family's faults, which he then screams at Harry.  
  
"We were new at having a freak in the family. Dudley was so perfect when he was little; he was just misunderstood by his teachers, classmates and the school nurse. You on the other hand were always getting into trouble with Dudley's friends. He would." Then was quickly cut off by Harry.  
  
"Me? Getting into trouble with Dudley's 'friends'?" he laughs at him. "If you think that you could at least for once have an open mind about what was going on. HE was the leader in his stupid gang of his. HE would take his classmates lunch money, and whether they gave it to him or not. HE would punch them in the nose to make sure that they never forgot. Me, being his favorite target would always break my glasses or my nose depending on the day that it was. So, if it is anyone that should be punished for everything, it should be you Vernon." Said Harry, with a sign of vengeance in his voice.  
  
"We tried to change things by your fourteenth birth--"  
  
"You try and change something? Now that's funny Vernon. If I saw you try to change I would think that it would be the death of you. My fourteenth birthday was the same year as my fourth year, correct?" Vernon nods, "That's when you tried to make your enormous son go on a 'rabbit food' diet. Not to mention the rest of the family. This diet had so little nutrition for me that I think just me alone would have lost ten pounds over the summer holidays. That is when my friends came in. I owled them about my problem and they came to my rescue, along with Sirius, my godfather. You do remember him don't you? He was the person that you thought was a criminal and would come and kill you if he found out that you were doing something wrong." He stops, ponders a quick thought and moves on. "Well, I forgot one detail, he was innocent. It just slithered across my memory and never stayed there. You don't have to worry about him coming to get you now. He was killed in a battle against the most repulsive dictator in the wizarding world. Him along with several other people was killed too in this battle. You want to think about why, or is that too hard for you?" Harry says to Vernon with a piercing stare, almost telling him to dare and answer. Vernon fails to grasp this and says,  
  
"Well you were obviously not wanted there so he tried."  
  
"Once again Vernon, you are wrong. He did try to kill me that time, along with about four other times. So, if you figure that out it would be.well what do you know? It was all the times that I was at Hogwarts. Fancy that? I try to get away from you, and I get to be a murder target. Then again, when I am here I AM a target. So, either way I am stuck between a rock and a hard spot. That's why when I am at Hogwarts I can at least figure out what the hard spot is. When I am here I cannot even have a say in what goes on around here. I feel like I am a servant. I want some useful chores to do or is that also to hard for you to do?" Harry was saying to Vernon, hoping that in some way he would gather all of this information and store it somewhere.  
  
"Actually I do have something for you to do. The first one will be a letter to your friend Bill, Bob, Jones or whatever his name was. That have to wait until we get back, but the rest can be done while we are gone."  
  
"His name is Ron." He said with the rudest voice he could possibly muster.  
  
"I don't care what his damn name was! You will not talk to me in that ungrateful tone of voice! Or have you so quickly forgotten what happened the last time?!"  
  
"No, I haven't Uncle Vernon." Harry replied with a voice that would try to make his mind and body forget what happened the last time. As his right hand absentmindedly massaged his left arm's forearm.  
  
"Well that's good to know that you haven't forgotten what happened. Just to make sure that you don't forget." Just as Vernon finishes he puts a right-cross punch into Harry's jaw. "There." Vernon said in a finality sort of tone. "Now Petunia, Dudley and I are going to go out for the night. Mrs. Figg, from next door, will be checking in on you about a couple times an hour. So, you had best be here when she checks in on you boy or there will be trouble. In addition to that, we will want to keep you busy so that you don't do anything to leave the house in ruins." He presents Harry with a paper. "This is a list of everything that needs to be done before we get back. If they are not done, then you will have to pay, do you hear me?" Harry nods his head. "Also there are some rules that need to be followed. They are don't eat anything, watch television, play on the computer, play, break anything, touch anything of Dudley's, Petunia's or mine. Also do not do any of that freakish stuff at all. Do you understand me boy?" Vernon bellowed at Harry.  
  
"Yes, Vernon."  
  
"Good, we best be leaving now. Don't bother to see us to the door. I think that we can find it perfectly ourselves!" Vernon yelled on the way out of Harry's room. While in the mean time, Harry is reading the piece of paper Vernon handed to him.  
  
Things To Do  
  
Wash the dishes Mow the lawn Clean your room Defrag all of Dudley's computers Weed the yard Do the laundry Clean the house  
  
When Harry finishes reading the list he thinks to himself, *O, this doesn't look that hard.* He then moves over to his trunk where he takes out his summer homework. After finding his quill, parchment and transfiguration book, does he then begin to read his new assignment.  
  
"Please state, and describe an animal of your choice that you would like to use for your amangi form. Make sure that you know about its hunting habits, life style and anything else that it may do. Use an unlimited amount of parchment with a minimum of two feet."  
  
"Great a two foot long minimum. I can only imagine what Hermione would do for her length." He begins to scribble his first little bit when knocking him out of his thoughts is the sound of a booming knock at the door.  
  
"Lovely can't even be gone for ten minutes before they have to come back. If I didn't know it I'd swear that they thought this was funny as hell." Harry said on his way down the stairs and opens up the front door. There in the doorway, was a man, with long golden hair and cold black eyes staring back into him. Eyes that looked like the soul of the person came right from hell.  
  
"Hello Harry, I believe that we have met before although briefly, but my son has told me all about you. My name boy is Lucius Malfoy." "Why, what, how?!" said a bewildered Harry. "How did you get here? Wait never mind, I don't care how you got here. I want you to leave right now and tell that stupid 'leader' or yours to leave me the bloody hell alone! Now go you little piece of-"  
  
"-Harry!! I know you may be a little mad right now, but that is no way to talk to someone like that. Tisk, Tisk. Even after all that I did for you. You could at least show some respect to your elders." He said in that greasy tone of his.  
  
"Who are you? You had better tell me now! I will only say this one time. Who are you?" Harry yelled as he tried to figure out who Mr. Malfoy really was.  
  
"Why, I do believe that you have repeated yourself my lad. You said and I quote, 'Who are you?' twice. So, on a technicality basis, your previous statement was falsehood." The mysterious person said in a way that seemed slimy, but yet Harry could tell that this sort of slime was not meant to be hurtful. On the contrary it had a playful sort of way with it.  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you to tell me who you are!?" Said Harry as he is by now starting to lose his own cool.  
  
"I will when you say the magic word." Harry then raises his eyebrows at this remark and grins evilly.  
  
"Alright then, you want me to say a magic word do you?" He reaches for his wand. "Want to hear my magic word?" At this point he quickly draws his wand and points it at the intruder's heart. "Now do you still want to hear my magic word?" By this moment, the intruder is starting to have a grin appear upon their face. Almost like they are enjoying this sort of tension in another person.  
  
"Harry, I would have thought that by now you would have recognized a friend of yours by now. But, since you don't want to play any more, I guess that I will have to tell you. My name is Belle to my friends and Mrs. Figg to most other people. So, since you know my name to you finally recognize me?" Then his slow memory finally kicked in and the light bulb comes on.  
  
"Belle how have you been! I've missed you and everyone else so much." Harry said with a sign of joy on his face.  
  
"Well I have been fine, how about you? I noticed that your Uncle Vernon was in a bad mood on his way out of the house. Not that there is much of a good side to compare it with. I was just hoping that you are ok." Belle said with a concerned voice.  
  
"They are treating me fine, I guess. I just had some, well lets call it words with Vernon before he left." Harry says to Belle and thinks, *And lots of them too.*  
  
"I'm hoping that you didn't tick him off to badly then, right?" With a grin appearing on Harry's face he says, "No, not that bad. I was just having some fun with him. He does need to open his eyes on life." Harry said with an amusing sort of way.  
  
"Ok, but you still didn't answer my original question. I can tell when a person is lying to me. So, I'll try this again, how are they treating you?" Belle questioned with a serious tone and with a watchful eye on Harry. While at the same time Harry's face drops, with by the looks of it some memories are coming back to him.  
  
"Mmmm.yes, they are treating me well. I guess it was better than before." He said while rubbing his right arm. "My arm is a little sore, nothing to serious though."  
  
"Well I would be happy to look at it and heal it if you would let me into the house."  
  
"O' sorry about that." He says while letting her into the house.  
"Thanks for finally letting me in. If I didn't put a drying spell on these clothes, I'd be soaked. No thanks to your lovely manners." She said with a stern and yet a sarcastic tone of voice. As Harry is letting her in, he keeps looking at her in an edgy sort of way. The looks are trying to get her to leave and yet at the same time with his pleading eyes trying to tell her something in which words will fail to express.  
  
"Are you going to look at my arm or not?"  
  
"I'll look at it in a minute." She gets out her wand. "Now where did you say it hurt?"  
  
"My left arm." Harry extends his right arm and looks at Mrs. Figg with hopeful eyes. Almost as if demanding her to do something, but can't seem to tell her.  
  
"Are you sure that your ok Harry? I'm only asking you so that I can make a report to Albus on how you are doing. Also everyone else is really worried about you. So, let us try this again, just like everything else. What arm is hurting you dear?" Harry looks at her in a dazed sort of way. After a while his eyes come back into focus and with a determined sort of voice he looks back at Belle and says, "They don't hurt anymore. Besides I have some other things to do for the Dursley's."  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"Nothing to bad, so don't worry."  
  
"Tell me"  
  
"No"  
  
"Tell me"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Fine be that way. I'll be back later to check in on you. So if you need anything in the mean time."  
  
"Yes, I know. Just come right over and don't hesitate at all." He said in a dull repetitive voice.  
  
"Ok, then since you know me so well, I guess that you won't be needing me anymore. Make sure that you don't answer the door or phone unless you are actually certain you know who they are, you hear?"  
  
"Yes, I know. Bye!"  
  
"Bye then." Replied Mrs. Figg on her way out of the house. Then as soon as she is about to shut the door he suddenly thinks of something.  
  
"Wait! How did you get to look like Mr. Malfoy?" At receiving this information she stops, turns around and looks at Harry with a stare. "It wasn't the Polyjuice Potion was it?" Harry says.  
  
"Why no Harry. It's something new that Tonks and I thought of. It's kind of like the Polyjuice Potion and a camouflage spell. All you have to do is think of the person and you can turn right into them. There is only one bug though we have yet to work out."  
  
"What's that?" Then with a chuckle Belle says, "We can't figure out how to change them back or even how long it will last. Thanks to Tonks' two- headed coin, I got to be the dummy and have been like this for about three weeks. Maybe even longer depending on how long it takes us to find the anti- dote."  
  
"Well, aren't you the lucky one?" Said Harry with a sense of laughter in his voice. "You get to stay like this even when you to check-up with Dumbledore! O, man Belle. I wish I could be there to see his reaction! I can see it now, you walking up to Dumbledore's office in that voice and the costume. Well I think you can get what I mean."  
  
"Yes Harry, I think I do. But before I even go up there I have to find Tonks and get my hands on her! She is going to learn real quickly what it is like to be in the position that I am in. Unless."  
  
"Unless what Belle?" Questioned Harry.  
  
"Well, I won't tell you now, but I will have to tell you later if it works the way that I hope it does. If it does it will be a doozie Harry, I will tell you that much" Belle said to Harry with an expression that showed that he was trying very hard to think of what she might be thinking of. Then Harry shrugs and decides to think it over later when she wasn't here. Maybe then he will be able to figure out what it was she meant.  
  
"Well, I have to go Belle. I have my summer homework and stuff to do for the Dursely's before they get back. Talk to you later"  
  
"Bye Harry. You come on over now you hear? You do know that you are allowed to come over any time that you want to. All you have to do is."  
  
"For God's sake! I know already. You have ONLY told me about eighty- billion times."  
  
"Well I am sorry Harry. You do know that I am only doing what Dumbledore told me to do. Bring it up with Dumbledore and not me."  
  
"Ok, fine. Whatever Belle" Harry said in a sort of defeated tone, since he knew that if he brought it up with Dumbledore that it would be a lost cause. Every time that he brings something up, he some how manages to worm out of my question and ask him a different one.  
  
"Bye then Harry dear." Said Belle as she looked around quickly to make sure that there were no muggles visible. Then she cast what appeared to be a repelling charm on herself and continued to walk through the rain to her house. Once Harry sees that she is inside, he proceeds to go back into his house, clunking his feet all the way up the stairs into his room and slamming the door. Once he is back in his room, he plops himself onto the floor and continues to work. Just when he finishes re-reading what he has already written for his Transfiguration homework, he hears another bang on the door.  
  
*How do they expect me to get my homework done if they keep interrupting my train of thought?* Thought Harry as he slams his book shut and tries to make as much noise as possible on his way down the stairs. As soon as he reaches the first floor, he goes to the door, opens it and yells at the visitor, "Can't you people leave me alone for once in your life! If you haven't noticed I have other things to do!"  
  
"Now Harry, I would recommend that you calm down. My Lord won't like you to be like that." Said the visitor.  
  
"Wait, Belle! Why are you why are you doing this to me now?" said Harry in a sort of perplexed tone.  
  
"I am not this Belle person that you talk about. My name dear boy, along with the people next to me." He gestures to the people next to him, "These are. well their names are of no importance to your minuscule brain. Although you may know them better as Crabbe and Goyle's parents. Now boy, you had best cooperate with us or there will be trouble. So, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" Said Malfoy's dad, Lucius, in a ominous sort of voice.  
  
"Well Luscious, if you really want me then you will have to catch me won't you?" said Harry as he quickly took out his wand and hit himself on the head with it. Then with a poof, Harry was nowhere to be seen.  
  
OOooooooooooooooOOOOOoooooo  
  
That's all for right now folks. I still need a beta-reader. So if anyone is interested, please feel free to e-mail me. My e-mail is on my profile. The next update should be soon. I will update faster if I get some reviews. Also feel free to leave a review for my story. This is the first real story that I have written, so any advice at all will be greatly appreciated. 


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